Scott Weidensaul is the author of nearly 30 books on natural history, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist "Living on the Wind" and his latest, the New York Times bestseller "A World on the Wing." Weidensaul is a contributing editor for Audubon and writes for a variety of other publications, including Bird Watcher's Digest and Living Bird. He is a Fellow of the American Ornithological Society and an active field researcher, studying saw-whet owl migration for more than 25 years, as well as winter hummingbirds in the East, bird migration in Alaska, and the winter movements of snowy owls through Project SNOWstorm, which he co-founded. He lives in New Hampshire, and is the chair of the Friends of Hog Island board of directors.

Catherine Hamilton was pretty much born with a pencil in hand, and began birding at an early age with her father. She holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from Bennington College, and has melded a keen interest in both natural history and art into a vocation of looking and learning deeply. A former instructor at the Rhode Island School of Design, she loves sharing her passion for both the avian and art worlds. Her work can be found in publications like the Princeton University Press book “The Warbler Guide,” and in journals and magazines such as “Nature,” “The Journal of Raptor Research,” and “Orion Magazine.” She was featured in the 2012 HBO documentary Birders: the Central Park Effect. Catherine believes that anyone can gain insight and understanding of the world around them through field sketching and observation.

Anthony Hill came to Hog Island in 1995 as a Field Ornithology camper, where he saw a banding demonstration by Sara Morris and heard a talk about Project Puffin by Steve Kress. As a result of that introduction, he became fascinated with both songbird banding and the Seabird Restoration Project (Project Puffin) and immersed himself in both activities. Anthony volunteered for part of 20 consecutive summers with Project Puffin on Eastern Egg Rock, Stratton Island, Matinicus Rock and Seal Island (his favorite).

In August 1995, Anthony attended a week-long introduction to bird banding at Dr. Morris’ banding station on Appledore Island and has been a regular Spring and Fall volunteer at that station since that first visit. He now holds a Master Bander permit with endorsement for hummingbirds and is certified as a bander Trainer for Passerines and Hummingbirds by the North American Banding Council (NABC). His personal banding research has focuses on wintering hummingbirds in New England and breeding American Kestrels in the Connecticut Valley of Massachusetts where he lives. He is on the board of the Friends of Hog Island and the Kestrel Land Trust, and enjoys being a regular construction volunteer and supervisor with Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity.

Anthony retired from a career in medical microbiology in 2010 and has been a Hog Island instructor for 8 years. He served as a Navy Hospital Corpsman with the Marines in Vietnam from 1968-1970.

A native of the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania, Corey Husic is a lifelong birder and naturalist. He first landed on Hog Island as a teen camper in 2012 and quickly fell in love with the place. Since 2017, he has returned to the island as an instructor. Corey has worked extensively to conduct ecological research and develop educational programs related to ecology, conservation, and natural history. Of particular note is his work with avian nocturnal flight calls. He conducted the initial flight call monitoring at the famous Bear Divide migration site in Southern California and has fostered an online community of professional and amateur flight call enthusiasts to develop a nationwide network of recording stations. Corey is also an eBird regional reviewer, an Audubon Christmas Bird Count compiler, and a member of the Pennsylvania and Michigan bird records committees. He is also a Field Naturalist for ZEISS.

In his day job, Corey is a chemist and educator holding a B.A. from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology. He is currently a visiting assistant professor at Lafayette College in Easton, PA.

Sara Morris is currently the Executive Director of the Shoals Marine Lab, an educational field station on Appledore Island, Maine, jointly operated by the University of New Hampshire and Cornell University. Her connection to Appledore and the Shoals Marine Lab dates back to 1990, when she began her studies of bird migration as a graduate student at Cornell University. She received her PhD in 1996 and joined the faculty at Canisius College that year. At Canisius, she taught a variety of courses including ornithology, vertebrate zoology, field ecology, evolution and ecology, and anatomy and physiology of plants and animals. Her career at Canisius included achieving tenure, attaining promotion to full professor, coordination of the Environmental Science Program, service as Co-chair of the Biology Department, selection as Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, and ultimately selection as Vice President for Academic Affairs. At Canisius, she was honored with induction into several honor societies, receiving the Arts and Sciences Teaching Award, and receiving the Koessler Distinguished Faculty Award, the highest honor for a faculty member. After more than 27 years at Canisius, the last nine of which were in academic administration, she retired from Canisius in 2024, received the honor of emeritus status, and immediately accepted the passion project of leading the Shoals Marine Lab. Shoals is the largest and oldest marine lab focused on undergraduate research. Shoals also provides extensive research opportunities, building of community, and advancement of sustainable practices and infrastructure. Shoals focuses on immersive, place-based education, and she is thrilled to be facilitating the continued transformative educational experiences Shoals provides. Sara’s research program has focused on migration and stopover ecology, and recently has expanded into flight calling behavior. She has also contributed to projects investigating the impacts of birds and bird migration on zoonotic diseases, the impacts of anthropogenic structures on birds (especially in migration), and the impact of climate change on bird migration in North America. Her work led to her election as and Elective Member and later a Fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU), election to the Council of the Wilson Ornithological Society (WOS) and AOU, election as Secretary of the WOS and later the AOU, election to the presidential succession of the WOS, and most recently election to the presidential succession of the American Ornithological Society. She currently serves as the President of the American Ornithological Society. She began teaching at the Audubon Camp in 1990 and is thrilled to have the opportunity to return to Hog Island each year to share her love of birds, Hog Island, Muscongus Bay, and Black Guillemots with participants in camp programs. She also currently serves on the Board of the Friends of Hog Island because of her commitment to the mission and activities of the Hog Island Audubon Camp.

Blair Clark has been birding almost all of his life. After moving to St Augustine, Florida, at age seven, his interest in birds took off when began shorebird stewarding on local beaches. Blair regularly leads bird walks for St Johns Regional Audubon, assists with bird surveys and participates in two Christmas Bird Counts annually. He has also led trips for the North Shore Birding Festival and Orange Audubon. Blair is a founding member of and speaker series coordinator for the Florida Young Birders Club. Blair begins college in the fall and will study wildlife conservation and ecology. After two summers as a teen camper, Blair is thrilled to return to Hog Island as a junior instructor.